Reliance Jio’s Entry A Boon To Feature Phone Shipments, But A Bane To Smartphones

Turbocharged by sales of Reliance Jio’s entry-level phones, the humble feature phone is giving a tough fight to its technically advanced peer— smartphone.

Recommended By Colombia. The growth of feature phone shipments in India at 11% beat that of smartphones’ growth of 10% in the quarter ended December 2018, data from Counterpoint Research showed.

“This is the first time the feature phone market grew faster than the smartphone market,” Tarun Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Counterpoint Research, said. “India and the Middle East are driving the feature phone market, capturing almost 3/4th of global feature phone sales in 2018,” he added.

Despite rising consumer aspirations, feature phones remain relevant for a large section of the Indian population. Affordability, a longer battery life, and ease of use for the technically challenged are a few areas where feature phones trump smartphones. The category has seen momentum with Jio’s launch of 4G-powered feature phone in 2017 for practically free. “Reliance Jio captured 38% of the feature phone segment in just over a year with its compelling value proposition compared to normal 2G feature phones,” Pathak said. Global research firm IDC noted in September that, for the first time, feature phone and smartphone shipments were necks to neck in the share of total shipments, with each contributing 50%. India shipped 42.6 million-unit smartphones in September quarter of 2018, and feature phone market registered shipments of 43.1 million units. “India is the largest feature phone market in the world today,” Navkendar Singh, Associate Director, IDC India, said. “The price point of the lowest-end smartphones is keeping feature phone market alive in India, as not enough first-time mobile users can afford to buy smartphones,” he said. The starting prices of a majority of the most basic smartphones today are around Rs 5,000.

“Even the users of smartphones priced in the Rs. 2,000-3,000 range are making a move to feature phones, which better meet their expectations with regard to user experience and regional content access,” Anshika Jain, analyst, Counterpoint, said. Industry trackers say feature phones are also serving as secondary phones for existing smartphone users, who wish to separate functional needs from browsing and entertainment needs. “For many users, the profession demands a high number of phone calls, and we find they choose to use the feature phones for such needs, Sunil Raina, president and business head, Lava International, said, adding that around 10% of its overall feature phone consumers tend to buy it as additional devices.—Times Of India